Angels, Demons, Heaven, Hell
by zoewinter1
Summary: Arthur Kirkland was living what he considered the perfect life. That is, until a tragic accident lands him dead in a hospital. Now he finds himself in a strange land with a friend he thought he'd never see again, being told he is an angel with a divine mission to slay demons! What happens when Arthur gets stuck in a forbidden love triangle between an angel and a demon? FRUKUS
1. Welcome to heaven

Part 1

They say, that all humans have a certain amount of years given to them by the head angel, Gabriella, when they are born. These years dictate how long your life will turn out to be. When those years run out, your life ends by natural causes such as disease or a force of nature.

If a human commits suicide, or is somehow murdered, there is an excess of years left over. These years are taken by Gabriella and given back to the human.

Now I want you to note, it is illegal to bring a human back from the dead. It is against the law of angels, and the most severe punishment is brought upon those who commmit such an atrocious act. But these left over years must be put to use, so Gabriella returns the humans years to them and brings them back, as an angel.

That is, if they were good while alive.

Arthur ran. He didn't know where he was running to, but he certainly knew where he was running from. Away from his adultery filled home. Away from his fiance as she hurridly pulled clothes over her sweat covered body. Her lover next to her, doing the same. Both of them panting and glistening in sweat from the passionate love they'd been participating in TOGETHER before Arthur oh so rudely intruded. Intruded on his fiancé cheating him with another man. Tears poured down his cheeks. The two were to be married in a little over a month but clearly she had different plans.  
"Arthur! Arthur!" the panicked voice of his fiancé rang through the air like the shrill shriek of a hawk. He promptly ignored her and continued running, tears blurring his vision  
"Arthur! Arthur please let me explain!"  
Explain what? Explain how despite our soon to be marriage you so blatantly disregarded our love in favor of another man? How, while I am at work paying for our food, our rent, our lives, you spend your free time with some young man you took a fancy to? Am I no longer what you crave in a relationship? AM I NO LONGER WHAT YOU NEED?  
His heavy footsteps echoed off the stone walls. If he had been able to see through his tears, he would have noticed the way the streets were almost empty due to the storm, and how everyone still in the streets hurried to get inside. Some gave the couple strange looks. After all, wasn't it always the man chasing the woman, isn't that usually how it worked? But Arthur knew better. Arthur had been nothing short of faithful and loving. What had inspired this sudden change of events? What gave his lover the reasoning to leave him and be with another?  
"Arthur, NO!" Her scream of panic reached his ears just as the screeching of tires, blaring of a horn, and searing impact against his body sent his mind somewhere else entirely.

He opened his eyes gently, a hazy grey clouded his vision. His vision was directed towards a pale ceiling, although he was moving rather quickly. He himself found his own body unresponsive to his attempts to sit up, or move at all. After a few moments he realized he was on stretcher moving through what must be a hospital. His ears began hearing just in time for him to hear panicked shouts.  
"I need an IV with number two four o seven in him stat! Haley prepare an x ray of his cranium, John stop that bleeding dammit!"  
"sharlene apply pressure to the abdomen!"  
"rick get a bandage on that gash!"  
"Arthur please don't leave me!" His fiancé , no his ex-fiancé , called out to him. But for what reason? Why should he stay? Why now that she had clearly moved on and was unintrested in continuing their quickly blossoming relationship? They'd met a few years back in the summer. She'd been so beautiful and called to him almost immediately. The two were perfect, made for eachother as so many reminded them. When Arthur had finally worked up the nerve to propose he made sure it was perfect. Despite him not being born very rich, nor having much money at the current time, he was so, just so sure that he could make it up and raise enough for them to lead perfect lives once they were married. He'd saved up and even bought them their own apartment. He proposed in the exact spot where they first met. In the summer heat with children laughing and smiling around them. They were hoping to have some of their own someday. But now... Now he'd faded into nothingness. Now she didn't care. Now...There was nothing left for him.  
"we're losing him! CPR now!" Several people cleared the way and a specific pounding in his chest could he felt, in the place of the natural beating of his heart. He rolled his head to the side, his final movement. They were dragging away a screaming crying woman. His ex-fiancé .  
"ARTHUR PLEASE DON'T LEAVE I'M SORRY" She was red faced, and tears streaked down her cheeks. Her beautiful summer face that had once mesmerized him, Now contorted in screams of sorrow "PLEASE"  
"goodbye" Was all he managed to whisper in response  
"DON'T LEAVE ME" In some part of his mind, He wanted to stay and be there for her. To comfort her and tell it would be alright. But ironically enough the moment he considered life again, the pain stopped, the people froze. Arthur gazed upon his what would've been soon-to-be-wifes beautiful figure. Even in her current state with her hair a mess, her face red, soaked in tears, and contorted in pain she still looked as beautiful as the day he met her. His thoughts came slower and slower to him until eventually...he felt...nothing...at all...

This time, when he opened his eyes, nothing hurt. His bones didn't feel misplaced, and he didn't have the sinking feeling of his organs leaking. He felt soft... And light. Almost as if he was floating on a cloud. Ironic as this thought would turn out to be later.  
Smiling, he opened his eyes. Blue skies replaced the white ceiling he'd been seeing before his... Death? He wasn't sure what to call it at this point as here he lay alive. Wait, was he even alive?  
Sitting up rather quickly confirmed to himself that he was indeed, alive. Not only that though, The weather and general area of where he was just seemed beautiful. He lay in the middle of a small courtyard. The grass was a vibrant green like none he had ever seen before. Beautiful white fluffy clouds made their way across the sky slowly, in no rush to reach their destination. Rather large birds flew amongst the clouds playfully swooping down at one another. For a few moments he admired these strange birds and their elegant flying. He'd never seen such a species before, maybe they newly migrated here?  
"Arthur" Said man looked in front of him. The courtyard was rather nice, with cobblestone walls surronding but they didn't seem imposing. They appeared almost as if they were a growth of the land, naturally forming objects that had always existed there. A figure stood in front of one of the walls. A figure he quickly identified as his old friend "Matthew"  
Matthew smiled that sweet passive smile of his that Arthur hadn't seen in years. Not since the incident "hi Arthur. How do you feel?"  
He blinked a few times. How did he feel? He wasn't sure of himself at that moment "better than i did a few moments ago"  
Matthew chuckled "well, that's a given."  
Arthur stood up and looked Matthew in the eye. Arthur realized he was wearing the same clothes he did in the crash, just some loose casual things he changed into after work. His loose pants were soaked in the mud of the street he'd been running in. The faded plaid of his shirt was stained... red? "Matthew..." His voice barely rose above a whisper as he stared at the crimson liquid covering his front "Where am I?"  
Matthews smile was soft, but still ever present on his face used to smiling so much. His smile almost seemed... Sad and pitying "We are somewhere safe"  
"That doesn't exactly answer my question Matthew"  
"I-I know, why don't you come with me and get changed. I'll explain everything on the way"  
"Alright" Arthur rose and walked over to where his old friend stood. How long had it been since they'd been able to hold a casual conversation like this? How long had it been since he last saw Matthew smile? Since Matthew had looked upon him without a hint of sadness in his eyes? When he said he was fine and actually meant it? "Follow me, there are rooms nearby" Matthew turned and began walking into the old builidng. Its walls were made of a pale cobblestone and vines grew up the side. Yet none of it was in the slightest bit onimous. Everything actually felt calm and welcoming, like an inn run by an old couple with grandchildren in the middle of an otherwise unpopulated area. A couple who welcomed you with freshly baked cooking and gave you lunch as you left the next day to continue your journeys.  
"u-um Matthew how am I..." He felt a loss of words and at Matthews confused expression, he gestured to himself.  
Matthew giggled. Not an incredibly girly giggle like you might hear from middle school girls talking about a crush. Just a light laugh "Walking, talking, moving, breathing?"  
"Yes" He exhaled. At least Matthew understood his confusion in the least. Well, considering this was Matthew he was talking to, he would of course understand being alive after apparent... death The word still felt strange on his lips. Death. He was dead. But was he really? Here he was, walking and talking with an old friend as if he hadn't just been cheated on, hit by a care, and died in a hospital. Those memories felt rather disconnected. As if his real life all had just been some strange dream. Actually, if it weren't for the blood currently staining his shirt, he would probably assume just that.  
"So... you're probably wondering where you are, what happened to you, how you are alive. correct?" Matthew suddenly piped up, interupting Arthur from his thoughts. He guiltily wondered if Matthew had been talking this entire time  
"oh u-um yes" In truth, this point really was confusing him.  
"well, I can't tell you in detail right now. It actually kind of confuses me" He chuckled and got a sort of lost look on his face for a few moments before snapping back "But to sum it up, you are in heaven"


	2. Meeting Romulus

part 2

"H- Heaven?" his quivering voice questioned. To say he was confused was an incredible understatement. But at the same time, that wasn't quite true. Here he stood, fully alive speaking to his supposedly dead friend.  
"Yes, heaven. Clearly you were good while alive, or Gabriella wouldn't have brought you back" Matthew's smile fell for only a second, but Arthur caught it.  
"Does this mean..." he let his question trail off.  
Matthew shook his head, ignoring the unsaid question. Answers would come later "Let's get going, Romulus is waiting"

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The two of them walked up the steps leading to a grandiose door. While the rest of the building gave off a comfortable feel, this door had more of an air of magesty and power. Clearly whoever sat behind this door was very serious and took his work seriously. Most definitely powerful, possibly in charge. Of course there could be someone even more powerful who was in charge. Matthew did mention a Gabriella, but he was fairly sure this was the office of said 'Romulus'  
"This is the office of Romulus. Be careful while in there" Matthew mentioned as he strode over to the powerful doors.  
"W-wait Matthew you git! you are coming in with me aren't you?" Arthur began to sweat, a million thoughts going through his head at once. What if there was some mistake and Arthur was never meant to be brought back? (whatever that implied!) What if this 'Romulus' was unimpressed and decided to send him back to continue living his human life? This thought did not bring him any joy. Back to his cheating fiancé who was, technically, indirectly responsible for his death. Back to working 14 hours a day in the factory just so they could afford to live. Arthur caught himself actually hoping he wouldn't have to return to that life.  
Matthew only chuckled at his apparent panic "No need to get so terrified Arthur, I'll be going in with you. Romulus is just a little eccentric, that's all"  
Arthur raised one eyebrow "eccentric?"  
Matthew sighed "You'll see what I mean" With a heave, Matthew pushed the golden double doors and walked in "Follow me" a command Arthur obeyed not wanting to be left alone in the hall with god knows what.  
Almost immediately Matthew found himself enveloped in a pair of arms "Michael my good boy! you've retruned with a new recruit I see!"  
Matthew struggled under the obvious weight the strange man was leaning on him "Y-yes sir. U-um it's Matthew"  
The man pulled himself off Matthew "of course! I knew that! So, who's the new recruit?"  
Throughout this entire ordeal, Arthur caught himself staring, mouth agape. Sure this was normal enough, albeit a little strange personality wise. (Coincidentally, any thought of him being serious went straight out the window) He had slightly shaggy brown hair and a stubble on his chin, both of which clearly had not been tended to anytime soon. While his memory seemed a little off (although who hadn't forgotten Matthew at least once?) he seemed otherwise normal. No, it wasn't these things that made Arthur's hair stand on end, or jaw hit the floor. It wasn't these traits that made his eyes widen or heart beat in fear. On his back were a pair of golden wings. Giant folded in golden wings. Each Feather seemed to shine in what little light was provided to the room. The wings themselves seemed as if they must weigh extreme amounts, except for the way he held his wings. The way he held them almost made them seem weightless.  
"This is Arthur Kirkland sir" Matthew piped up, although went rather unnoticed.  
"Arthur? Hmmm" He pondered the thought for a few agonizing moments, then lit up like a lightbulb "Oh! Arthur! Gabriella told me you would be arriving soon enough. Come, come sit down" The strange golden angel motioned to the two cushiony seats in front of his mahogany desk, one of which was already occupied by Matthew. Arthur gratefully took the seat next to his old friend.  
"Now Matthew how much have you explained to our new friend?" The golden winged man smile seemed genuinly happy. As if he really were a brand new friend, possibly moving into their frat house who just needed explaining a few rules. No drinking after 3am, No loud music after midnight, No bringing girls (or guys) back to the house without first being introduced to the rest of the frat.  
"U-um I actually haven't explained anything yet, I thought it might be best if you did, since you are head angel after all..." He trailed off.  
He gave a large hearty laugh "Yes, yes I see your reasoning. Well, I'll start with introductions. My name is Romulus, head angel" he offered his hand to Arthur. Meanwhile, the brit felt like a bag of tar had just been dropped on to his brain. This was Romulus? Wait... of course this was Romulus! This was his office after all. Why wouldn't it be Romulus?  
Arthur realized Romulus's hand was still outstretched towards him in a friendly manner. Taking the hand, he shook it trying to match the friendliness "Arthur Kirkland" he mentally cursed himself. Romulus probably already knew that.  
"Well Arthur, you've probably already realized by this point but let's start at point 0 shall we? To put it in simpler terms, you are dead"  
Arthur nodded "Yes I've realized that by now"  
"and you were good in your life, so you are in heaven"  
"Trust me, I appreciate it"  
"Would you like me to explain it all to you?"  
"If you wouldn't mind"  
Matthew rolled his eyes "Here he goes"  
Arthur looked to the sarcastic boy "what?"  
Matthew chucked to himself "give him the short version Romulus. I'm sure we'd all appreciate it"  
Romulus stood up, and began atrlling through the room admiring the little knick knacks that adorned the walls. A golden roman shield, an old worn cape the colour of blood, a painting of two small boys(?) in white dresses. He continued talking as he walked "well you see, I am Romulus. Head of... something. I don't quite remember now! But I do know I am supposed to explain everything to you. How we came to be, how you are here, where the public washrooms are, all of that! Hmmm where to start?" He approached a battered sword with a few mysterius crimson stains on it and gave it a few swings, strking down invisible enemy warriors before replacing the sword on its pedestal "This is how it works in short terms. When a human is born they are given a certain amount of years. The average being around 70-80 years nowadays. Gabriella's been getting generous! She used to give no more than 40 years back in the day! Of course she still has her moments. Children being born with no more than 12 years or so. It happens" he shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing. Arthur felt rather disgusted. He spoke as if it was just someone having a bad day and not finishing their homework properly. Not ending the lives of children early on.  
"I-Is this what happened to me?" He cursed his slight waver in voice "Did Gabriella have another one of 'her days'?"  
"oh heavens no! pardon the pun" he chuckeled "Let me get to that. As I was saying, we all have a certain amount of years given to us at birth. Some more than others. When those years run out, we..."  
"We die" Arthur finished for him, not even attempting to hide the disgust in his voice.  
Romulus smiled sadly "Yes, we die. Not in the ways you are expecting however. If a human's years naturally run out then they die from natural causes such as disasters, or more commonly, disease."  
Arthur thought on this for a moment "natural disaster or disease?" neither of those explained his death.  
"Yes. Now as you see, there are obvious exceptions to this rule. You yourself are an excellent example. You're death was in no way natural am I right?"  
"yes"  
"Well you see this occasionally happens. It's the cause of..." Romulus gave a concerning to glance to Matthew, who quickly shook his head "ah well I explain that part later" Romulus continued.  
Arthur was confused. Why did he stop? He chose not to question it. Matthew did warn him he was eccentric after all.  
"Anyways! Sometimes these things happen and the result is people like you. Now since you obviously did not use up all your years, Gabriella had to do something with your years. She brought you back as an angel to help us fight in our war."  
Arthurs head suddenly began to reel. Angels? Wars? Years? If he hadn't been already sitting, Arthur was sure he would've collapsed. As it was, he visibly slumped in his chair.  
"Arthur? Are you alright? I know this is a lot of information to suddenly take in but it's better now than later eh?" Matthew's cute Canadian accent slipping in.  
"I-I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed, that's all." He shook off Matthew's over concerned glances and turned to Romulus politely (as a gentleman should) "you were saying?"  
"ah yes as I was saying, we are fighting a war. Not a figurative war either. This is a full on real war against demons" Demons... of course "The demons are, simply put, the opposite of angels. When GOOD humans die from.. other causes... Gabriella raises them as angels. But if that human had too many sins on their soul, the angles can not reach them and they are left for the demons. Vriscillia, the Demoness version of our holy Gabriella, raises them as Demons. Together we have been, and still are, locked in a battle since the beginning of time itself. What I need you to do, is get as adjusted as quickly as possible to join the brigade!"  
Matthew snorted at the mention of their holy 'brigade' it was nothing as magnifique as that in his opinion. Just a rag tag of people who were good enough to be risen again. But Romulus held them to high standards which they surprisingly met. If they were good enough to fight, then fight they would.  
"Say, Arthur" Romulus continued "Did you have anyone you knew who died of other causes? any friends or family? it might help if you have friends to help you adjust."  
Arthur jumped slightly at the attention being turned to him "Well, I have Matthew. We knew each other for years in high school before..." Arthur trailed off, sure he didn't have to explain that did he? If Matthew was here and Romulus was here he must've known how Matthew came to be.  
"Yes, yes. Anyone else?" At this, Arthur had to hold his tongue. There was one more he knew. One more friend of his who died in High school. But if only the good came to heaven, then he surely wasn't here.  
Arthur shook his head "No sir, no one else" Matthew stared at the floor sadly. He knew who Arthur would've mentioned, and silently thanked whatever other forces kept Arthur silent. Things would've sled to a far more uncomfortable subject if Arthur had brought... him... up.  
Romulus smiled his grandiose smile dismissing the saddened air around them. "alright! Matthew, you show him around alright? Get him a change of clothes" He eyed the blood stains covering his front "and get this good man to the mess hall! The poor Brit must be starving!"  
Matthew stood up, recognizing a dismissal when he heard one "Come on Arthur, let's go"  
The two of them exited the room just as Romulus called out "Oh and Matthew? Introduce Arthur to that French friend of yours! I'm sure the two of them will get along veeeeery well!" Matthew and Arthur flushed equal shades of red, realizing what Romulus was implying as the door slammed shut behind them.  
Matthew chuckled, still not losing his blush "Don't mind him. Romulus likes to joke around a lot. Come on, let's get you changed"  
"and a good cup of tea if you don't mind" Arthur mumbled under his breathe, but Matthew still heard it  
"yes, and a good cup of tea"


	3. Arthur's punk phase

part 3

They continued walking through the comforting hallways in silence. Arthur, several steps behind Matthew. The Canadian had a light bounce in his step, and he almost seemed to glow. Arthur couldn't see the boy's face, but he knew he was smiling. Whenever Matthew walked like this, you knew he was smiling. Something Arthur truly hadn't seen for so long.

"Matthew..." He trailed off, unsure if he should ask the question he had in mind.

But he'd caught his attention "yes?" No going back now...

"How... How have you been?" It seemed like such a simple question to any normal person. As simple as 'how do you do?'

But to these two, it was so much more. So many words went unspoken between them. Memories of days that were significantly less happy as today played through their heads before Matthew finally responded "I'm fine" then clarified "I'm doing much better"

This seemed to satisfy the Brit, and they continued the rest of their walk in silence.

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"Just sit there on the bench, I'll retrieve some clothing for you" Matthew directed Arthur to a wooden bench with sewn on pink cushions. This whole building seemed straight of a fairy tale. A little cottage in the middle of nowhere. Although something was bothering him...

"oi! Matthew?" he called into the next room where Matthew was rummaging through drawers of clothing mumbling things along the lines of "no, not this. not his size, he would never wear that.."

"yes?" he calmly replied back, elbow deep in random articles of clothing

"Why aren't there any windows in this bloody place?"

Matthew chuckled lightly, although Arthur caught it and it made his heart warm. He hadn't laughed like that in so long...

He returned, clothing in arms, and sat next to him and handed him the clothing "Well, apparently when this was place was first 'built' they had multiple occurences of people flying into them so... yeah they built over them and now it's all walls mostly"

Arthur made it a point to listen to what the boy was saying, remembering how much he'd hated being forgotten but couldn't help but ask "fly into them?"

Matthew became slightly flustered, rubbing the back of his neck "yeah, people think it's easier to fly through the buildings than go to the doors. Sometimes we forget there's glass in those holes" He winced, probably remembering some nose breaking event that lead to the building over of these windows.

"u-um yes but... how?" He still wasn't grasping the concept.

"o-oh!" Matthew jumped up "right I probably should've shown you these earlier. I hid them so as not to frighten you at first but, um, sorry uh here" He removed his shirt and sprouting from his back, were a pair of pure white wings.  
Arthur stared in shock. Romulus having giant golden wings was one thing. His best friend with a pair of pure white ones? This was beginning to make less and less sense...

"you have a pair of your own, you know" Matthew continued "just take a look"

Arthur turned but saw nothing "Matthew are you yanking my chain?"

"N-no just.. um..." he blushed furiously, remaining silent. Arthur grew irritated, wanting to know what he was so nervous about.  
"just what Matthew? spit it out"

Matthew mumbled something inaudible to the Brit

"speak up!"

"Take off your shirt!"

After a few moments of awkward silence and staring at each other, Arthur began to chuckle, then laugh. He couldn't resist the laughing fit that suddenly hit him "w-what Arthur?" Matthew was still blushing, and a certain spaniard would probably compare his face to that of a tomato.

"It's (laugh) it's just how (laugh) flustered you got (laugh) when you (laugh) asked me to remove my (laugh) shirt" He said, multiple laughs breaking his sentence apart. Matthew puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, growing more red by the minute. He began shaking and tears were in the corner of his eyes, which caused Arthur to immediately stop his laughter

"Matthew? a-are you alright lad? I honestly didn't mean anything by it I'm sorry if I offended you.."

The nearly sobbing boy quickly shook his head, wiping away any unshed tears "N-no sorry for being so sensitive"

Arthur stared at him with caring eyes "why?" he let the one word slip into the air, a million questions behind it.

"you just.. reminded me of... them. it's nothing to worry about honestly. I've just been feeling nostalgic since you've come here"

"them.." Arthur mumbled "is that why you left?"

Matthew froze, the unspoken topic suddenly coming up. Matthew knew he would ask eventually, but he didn't think it would be so soon. He knew Arthur had wanted answers the moment he had been informed of Matthew's decision. Answers he had never received. Now with Matthew back, of course he wanted to know why made his decision. The decision that changed his life forever.

_ A pair of strong hands held his head under the pristine water of a highschool toilet bowl. His hair floated around him as he flailed for air_

_spitballs launched themsleves into the back of the small canadians head_

_a leg suddenly shot out to trip him in the hallway_

_strong legs and arms hit him repeatedly causing bruises to appear over age old bruises_

"them.." Matthew mumbled, his eyes darkened remembering his reasoning for his decision "yes they were the reason"

Arthur sucked in a gulp of air. In all honesty he'd always known what was happening to the smaller boy, but had never stepped in. To fearful of what they would do to him if he intervened. That decision had cost him dearly.

"I should've... I should have helped. In some way. I should have stopped them, told someone, done **SOMETHING**" Arthur felt on the brink of tears himself. He'd nothing while his friend had suffered countless times. He'd always felt he should have done something. Should have, could have, would have. Didn't.

"Arthur" Matthew whispered. He knew Arthur, his best friend, had always blamed himself. When Matthew had re-awoken after expecting absolute nothingness, not only had he felt dissapointed but he also felt guilty. He hadn't escaped as he'd hoped. He still "lived" with the memories of his every day torture, and he'd put everyone who had loved him through such pain

A heavy air hung between them. Two friends, seperated due to such unfortunate circumstances, neither knowing what to say to lighten the mood. The topic had turned to such a sour subject, neither knew what to do. Arthur was the first to clear his throat, clearly done with the subject of such depressing things.

"a-anyways. you were saying something about removing my shirt?" Arthur questioned innocently, causing the angel before to him to blush several shades of red

"u-um to see your wings! it's nothing like... that..." Matthew was still blushing, refusing to look in Arthur's direction. He chuckled again at such behavious (although made sure to control it this time) and removed his shirt only to gasp in brilliance. Protruding from his back, were a pair of pure white wings. Each feather almost seemed to glow in radiance. Matthew turned to and smiled.

"they are rather beautiful aren't they?"

Arthur couldn't stop staring. These wings... these wings were HIS. It was one thing seeing Romulus or Matthew with a pair of their own. It was a whole another thing seeing them knowing they were his wings. That these wings would lift him through the sky and aid him in soaring above the clouds. That these feathers, silk to the touch, were parts of his own flesh.

"they.. they certainly are" he finally managed to spit out. He was still in state of amazement and bewilderment.

Matthew chuckled lightly "I reacted the same way. They take a little time getting used to, but after a week or so, you will be a professional. I can garuntee it. of course there may be a few bumps along the way.." he winced, apparantly remembering a few of his own 'bumps along the way'

Arthur raised one eye brow at him "you weren't per chance the reason they removed the windows were you?"

"n-no not THE reason, maybe one of the reasons..." he mumbled and Arthur couldn't help but feel just a little pleasant that managed to pass their rather unpleasant conversation from earlier. Back to an easy topic that made things easier.

"anyways!" Matthew was clearly happy for a topic change "you put on those clothes I picked out for you, I'll go change" and h hurried off to a different room to do said actions.

Arthur observed with caution the clothing Matthew had picked out for him. He wasn't sure Matthew had his best interests in mind while picking out his clothing, and was now rather wary to discover what had beens et out for him. With precaution, he uncovered the pile to find clothing that would have been perfect for him...

during his punk phase.

Of course the last matthew had seen him, he'd been into rather punkish clothing and tight ripped jeans and t-shirts with all sorts of strange things decorating the front. Strange scarves and clothing that made him seem so bad ass. But now he had relaxed, calmed down, and settled into a more calming way of life. These clothes were a sharp shock from a past he had more or less. Still... it coudln't hurt to try these could they? A new (life?) a new beginning. New possibilities. Perhaps he could even find someone to replace his ex lover? The idea seemed plausible, and even fairly pleasing when he really thought about it. Someone to share a bed with, to become comfortable, to share secrets. But was he simply setting himself up for another disaster? What if it had been his fault she left him. What if he had been displeasing in some form or another?

Well, if that was the case, it would be best to take things slow. Maybe find some friends first. If he truly felt up for it later, then maybe he could find another lover.

But of course, life doesn't always listen to us, now does it?

After quickly changeing into his given clothes, Arthur remerged from the room into the hallway where Matthew was now waiting. He too had changed apparently, into a similar outfit but with long thin holes in the back for his wings to come out. They must have been uncomfortably squished in that other sweater of his so as not too panic Arthur earlier. The Brit noted that his clothing held similar holes for his wings so they remained unrestrained.

"Are you ready to meet the others?" Matthew questioned with a little too much enthusiasm in Arthur's opinion.

"others?" Arthur wasn't sure about these 'others' who else had Matthew met while here? They must have died of other causes just as he had. Arthur wasn't sure how happy these people really could be. They had died for crying out loud. Left everything behind, for something else. This, whatever it was. This after life. And how great was it truly? How amazing was their time spent here? They had to fight demons for crying out loud! last time Arthur checked, that wasn't on his list of fun things. The more Arthur thought about it, the more his mood lowered. What if he was injured in battle? Were there even battles here? What if Matthew was injured? Arthur wasn't sure he would forgive himself if he let Matthew get dangerously hurt. Could they even get hurt here?

Matthew though, quickly caught on to his expression and immediately removed his worries "don't worry Arthur, they're really fun guys. You'll like them a lot trust me"

Trust me

"alright, but if these people turn out to be boring old people, I am leaving before you can mumble 'maple' "

Said Canadian snickered "you're not so young yourself"

Arthur mocked offense "I am much younger than you give me credit for!"

Matthew ushered him towards a pair of double doors that must have led outdoors. They were significantly less grandiose than Romulus's doors, but that was to be expected as Romulus obviously held much status. These doors were plain and simple slightly dusty wood. Sunlight almost leaked in through the cracks.

"yeah yeah sure sure, come one Arthur. Time to meet the gang"


	4. Matthew's life and death

Part 4

"come on Arthur, it's time to meet the gang"

Matthew opened the doors and for a few fleeting seconds, Arthur was blinded by the sunlight that came pouring in. Once his eyes finally adjusted, What he saw astounded him.

People with glorious white wings flew through the vibrant blue sky. Soft yellow haloes adorned their heads, floating a few inches above their faces. Each and every one of them almost seemed to glow in happiness. Smiling, laughing, cheering. Some children ran through the green fields that surrounded the small house, one of few Arthur noticed. Large houses, similar to the one they just exited from, dotted the landscape here and there. Groups of people could be seen flying in and out of the houses, doors and windows. Some small children passed a glowing ball amongst themselves, 150 feet up in the air.

Matthew noticed his gawking and chuckled "it sure is magnificent isn't it?"

Arthur nodded "just as I expected heaven to be like"

"Matvey!" A shrill female voice called out and a... heavily busted woman descended from wherever she was in the sky to her and Matthew's level "who is this, Matvey?" she spoke with a distinct russian accent, not bringing and happy memories for the British man. Her blonde hair cupped her round cheeks and beautiful blue eyes sparkled. Just like all the others, a pure white halo crowned her hair. A pair of white pants and A frilly white blouse covered her. She looked much like an angel, it was her voice that unnerved him.

"Kat, this is Arthur. Arthur, Katyusha" He politely shook her hand, still not wanting to be anywhere near her.

"ah, Arthur! Matvey has said much about you" Her smile was small, soft, and sweet. It honestly reminded him a little of Matthew.

"he has?" He pondered what Matthew possibly could have said about him to his friends.

she nodded, embarrassingly shaking her breasts up and down "he said you were very nice and always there for him when he needed you most. Also that you could be grumpy at times, and love tea"

Arthur was immediately flustered at the details she'd suddenly thrown at him. Matthew had said that much about him?

He looked over to his canadian friend who looked just as flustered as Arthur did "Matthew?"

He snapped out of his reverie and nearly shouted (for it seemed impossible for this boy to actually shout) "K-kat! Why don't you go get Francis and the others?"

"okay!" she smiled and flew off, oblivious to the raging emotions pounding through the two boys at that moment.

"Matthew..." He repeated.

"M-my friends wanted to know what my life was like before. I wanted to tell them the more positive things so... you were the only thing that came to mind."

"you could've told them about your grades... or Lars"

Matthew got a slightly darker expression "Lars wasn't as kind as everyone thought. He was actually really abusive. Both verbally and physically"

Concerned filled Arthur's face "a-and... sexually"

his silence was enough of an answer for Arthur.

"why don't you introduce me to the rest of your friends?"

He perked up slightly at the mention of the others "a-alright, just this way. We normally meet over here..." he began trailing off, leading Arthur towards their meeting spot. Arthur observed him through this, guiltily, not paying attention to anything Matthew was saying. His breath was taken away by how diffferent Matthew seemed. He smiled more, and he almost appeared glowing while talking of his friends. freinds. Matthew had finally managed to find friends other than himself. Surprisingly, he didn't feel a hint of jealousy at this. Matthew deserved more friends than himself, and Arthur always thought of himself as a caring older brother to Matthew, all things considered on his actual brother. Alfred was anything but the caring older brother Matthew needed. Arthur let himself fill that roll.

'Alfred F. Jones' he thought sadly 'world class asshole, number one bully within our highschool, and number one reason for Matthew's suicide'

"Arthur?" Matthew waved a pale hand in front of the Brit's face "Arthur we're here"

Arthur snapped out of his reverie and took in his surroundings. At some point, they'd entered a slightly wooded area. Not enough to be considered a forest, but A few lush trees dotted the green landscape. A dirt path led to a white gazebo that offered some shade, not that it was needed. The sun was anything but blazing, as it seemed nothing could be anything but perfect here. With that thought in mind though, He realized the gazebo must be nice as well.

Several people sat inside the gazebo, laughing and joking with one another. They were obviously rather close based on how care free they seemed amongst each other. A pair inside were obviously a couple based on how intimate they were getting with one another despite the others inside light heartedly teasing them about it. Matthew and Arthur approached the friends and Matthew roughly cleared his throat, gathering the other's attention

"everyone, I would like you to meet a friends of mine, Arthur"

several faces watched him expectantly, and he waved nervously to dispel the awkwardness "hello"

One of the angels jumped up imediately ran over, hugging him kindly. Arthur sputtered, unsure of how to react. After a few seconds, the strange boy released him and Arthur got a good look at him. He wore a plain white t shirt. His golden orbs locked on his own emerald ones, and his slightly auburn hair blew in the miniscule breeze.

"veh~ my name is Feliciano, but you can call me Feli~" He had a distinctively italian accent, with a nice flow that made him think he could curse his mother to hell and sound kind doing so.

"Arthur" he allowed his own royal sounding accent to display his roots to the italian boy. The boy seemed overjoyed at meeting another angel, his pure white wings flapped excitedly lifitng him a few inches off the ground.

"hey bastardo, calm down before you fly to the moon!" another distinctively italian voice shouted, this one much less kinder. It belonged to a similar looking boy, sitting in the lap of a happy looking angel with tusled light coffe brown locks. Green sparkled in amusement as he looked down at his, presumably, lover

"ah~ lovi don't be mean. Hola, my name is Antonio, and this little tomato is Lovino" His own spanish accent reminding of happy days in sunshine. He was definitely a kind of man who enjoyed working hard, and laughing it all off. He could now see how he could tolerate the little cusser. It probably just never got to him.

The last man, hidden in the shadows, stood and exited the gazebo to properly introduce himself just as Feliciano had, only in a much calmer fashion. The minute he stepped into the sunlight, Arthur stifled a gasp. Blonde locks cascaded down his face towards his shoulders that seemed far too perfect to be real. A loose blue shirt, opened and reveal his perfect chest. Slight blue eyes that held their own depth and mystery approached him, and Arthur found himself unable to speak in the presence of such a gorgeous man.

"Bonjour~ Je m'appelle Francis. Do you like what you see?" He raised an eyebrow sedictively as he lowered himself to kiss the Brit's hand. He sputtered in humiliation, and only after the frenchmen had released his hand did he find the motivation to react.

"n-no, of course not! you simply shocked me, that's all I swear!" He sputtered out, trying to keep his blush at bay. Matthew, knowing his friend too well, chuckled at the poor brit's despair. He knew how Arthur reacted when he'd someone attractive.

"oh? is that all? you shock and wound me Artur" the frenchman mocked despair and held a perfect hand to his chest in defeat

"it's ArTHur" He prounounced the 'th' extra loudly, so Francis would understand.

"But I cannot properly say it with my accent, d sol Artur. You are from england, non? I shall call you Angleterre" He smiled and laughed at his own cleverness, Antonio joining in on the laughter and Feliciano giggling, not quite understanding what was going on. Lovino simply glowered at him before diving his face into Antonio's tanned chest.

"but you just said 'with'! there's no bloody need to be giving me nicknames!" Arthur's cheeks grew more and more red, until his entire face was flushed.

"I am sorry, I have no idea what you are talking about" He offered a seductive wink to the new angel before settling himself in the gazebo "won't you join us?"

His voice almost came off as the purr of a cat. One so beautiful you can't help but pet, yet feel as if you are about to get clawed while staring into those dangerous eyes. As much Arthur wanted to refuse the offer, Matthew had already seated himself along with the others. He could go somewhere wlse, meet some new people, but it would be unbearibly rude to his old friend. With great reluctance, He sat himself between Matthew and the bouncing Italian. Feliciano, he reminded himself.

"So why don't we get to know each other, well get to know Arthur because he's the only new one, by talking about ourselves" Antonio cheerfully suggested. The man was really cheerful and-

Arthur's thought process was rudely cut off by Lovino stating in a rather monotone voice "let's tell each other how we died"

Everyone stared at Lovino. Surely no death was peaceful. Most must have held very painful memories, for death was never a simplistic thing at all. Many events led to the death of a being, and such events were hardly joyful. Just as Arthur was about to point this out, Matthew whispered "fine"

"wha-? Matthew we don't have to, we can choose another topic" Arthur stared bug eyed at the blonde canadian.

"it's a good idea on how to get to know each other. I don't know how any of you died and besides, we were all thinking it. Lovino's the only one bold enough to say it" His eyes were darkened, no longer light with happiness, obviously remembering his own days "I will go first"

No one made a sound to protest, although Arthur felt they should.

"as I entered high school, I came out of the closet to my family privately. I didn't want anyone to know, I wanted to see how they would react first."

"and?" Antonio questioned

"and... they didn't take it well. My father outright denied it, saying it was bullshit and completely impossible that he was the father of a" he shuddered "a faggot"

Everyone tensed at the word, being called so themselves before.

"My mother started crying. She was suddenly sobbing into her hands and screaming that I was going to hell, that my eternal soul would rest with satan. She even pulled a bible out, and tried to excorcise the demon out of me. Needless to say, nothing happened."

"but with my brother... with my brother it was the worst. He didn't say anything, just got up and left, but he had this dark evil smirk. A terrible shine in his eyes. When I came to school the next day, everyone knew."

"did things get better from there?" Feli questioned hopefully, with a sad twinkle in his eyes.

"no" He deadpanned "it got a lot worse. People outright ignored me, or payed far too much attention to me. I couldn't use school bathrooms because they were always lurking there, waiting. Afterschool, they would corner me and beat on me, call me names, throw their garbage at me. Some even grabbed me in ... places. They'd rub on me and ask if I was aroused. Which really was the strangest thing in my eyes, as they were all 100% straight. I think they just wanted to "scare the gay out me". The local priest's son would shout out bible verses at me, to see if I would break out in flames."

"finally after a few years of hell, another man approached me in school. I was still only a junior then, and he was a senior. He asked me out on the spot, and I accepted on a whim. He seemed nice, if a bit intimidating at first. He bought me tulips, and made me feel really happy. Even the jocks who originally bullied me left me along when I was around him. But after a few months, things began to change in him. He started getting more aggressive, insisting I didn't need anyone else. That he was the only one for me. That I would never get anyone else. Then, the abuse really began."

He took a deep breathe to calm himself "at first it was only small things, like a slap if I did something wrong. He insisted it was for my own good, to teach me so I wouldn't do bad things. But then it became harsher things like punching, and kicking. If I didn't agree with something he said, it got worse. Eventually he told me I had to submit completely to him in every way. My mind, my voice, and my body. He began raping me several times a week because I refused. it took me months to finally officially call it off between us."

Everyone stared in anticipation, waiting for him to continue. After a few moments spent staring down the floor, he continued in a much quieter voice

"but after I left, things only seemed to get worse. The bullies returned with a new fury, and Lars, my ex-boyfriend, began spreading terrible rumours about me. My parents became convinced I was on drugs, and some girls got the idea I was a prostitute. But I walked through it all, determined to make it out. The final blow for me, was learning who had been behind the scenes orchestrating my downfall"

"my brother, Alfred. He's the one who told Lars about me, told the school my sexuality, and even egged on the bullies, paying them at times to do disgusting things to me. He believed that if I suffered enough, the demon within me would die or leave. They too, eventually, started raping me."

He took a struggling breath, clearly holding back tears as hidden memories began to overwhelm him.

"I tried telling someone, my parents, my teachers, the principal, even the police! But no one listened. I lived in a small town, no one there was very accepting of gays and by now the whole town knew of my little "problem". I was the dark stain on my family's pride, the evil in their eyes. It was in that moment that I realized, no one cared. No one wanted me there, as I'd been told several times by Al, and nothing mattered to me anymore..."

"So one day, without a second thought, I went to the roof of my school building, started walking towards the edge, and didn't stop until I hit the ground" 


	5. Antonio and the inquisition

Angels and demons part 5

Various looks of shock covered the angel's faces. Feliciano's eyes were wide open; crystal clear tears staining his cheeks. Lovino stared, his gaze tense and guilty. Antonio's eyes had slid shut and he held a solemn hand over his heart. Francis didn't try any dramatics, and enveloped the boy in a comforting hug. Arthur sat and stared at the floor, his gaze unwavering. He'd partially known the story beforehand, but now that he'd heard all the terrible details he felt like throwing up.

Feliciano's fat tears rolled down his cheeks and he jumped into Matthew's lap, snuggling his face into Matthew's neck. Apologies ran out of his mouth in a never ending stream. The corner of Matt's shirt became soaked but he didn't seem to mind. The smallest of small smiles lit up his face from his drearyness, at the same time with a blush.

"uh ah it's okay feli really. what's done is done. a-anyways I'm here now with you guys and that's what matters most right?"

Feli continued holding on for a few more seconds before letting go and resuming his place before he hugged Matthew. Just as Matthew was free, another italian, this one crying just as much as the last, hugged Matthew. While Lovino tried to hide the tears, he was terribly unsucessful.

"bastardo" he mumbled, his face still in Matthew's shirt "making me cry like that"

Before the Canadian could react, Lovino got up and was replaced by Antonio gently patting him on the shoulder with a sad smile that didn't reach his eyes. He nodded and Matthew nodded back before Antonio re-took his place with Lovino on his lap.

A heavy silence hung over everyone, not knowing what to do now. No one wanted to go next, yet someone had to volunteer.

Finally, Antonio cleared his throat "u-um... me next?" No one countered him, so he cleared his throat once more and began his story.

"I did not live any time near the present. I lived much further in the past. I had a wonderful home in spain, a small town that no longer exists. The year was 1480, and the spanish inquisition was rising to power very fast. They were burning jews at the stake. I could always see the smoke in the distance. I was just a humble tomato farmer. I worked long days, and slept short nights. Once a week, I would bring my tomatoes into town and sell them in the market place. I was well known as the kind tomato farmer, because sometimes I would give a few to hungry children on the streets. I knew some snickered at me behind my back for being so stupid as to feed mongrels but what they didn't know was that I lived a similar life to them. Me and my older sister were abandoned, our mother; a mistress to some rich lord. When our mother died of an STD, we were no longer useful nor needed as the lord had a young fertile wife with many heirs already. Us bastards were simply in the way. A few years later, we were grabbed off the streets by a strange man, offering us work. We took it without asking what it was. Work was work right? Work meant working and getting paid; right? Not for us. He took us as slaves, selling my sister to travelling gypsies and working me to the bone on that little tomato farm. I worked for years until I was just reachin a prime young age of 15, when my master was accused of being a jew. They took him and left me the farm. It was chance and pure luck that got me off the streets"

"did you ever see your sister again?" Arthur questioned silently.

"... no I'm afraid not. I never learned what became of her." Antonio sighed "I can only hope her death was peaceful, but... well she isn't here so that means her death was by natural causes, not something else like mine..."

"I worked on my farm for years after that. I grew tomatoes and life was bliss for me. No one ever haggled with me for prices. Robbers never tried to burn down my farm. Bakers and Butchers were especially kind to me, as I was kind to their children. They gave me discounted prices on bread and meat. A river was near my farm, so the ground was especially fertile and grew plump soft tomatoes. It also made it easier for me to fetch water for baths and other various things. I was known to be a little bit cleaner than most, leading to rumours I had been of royal blood. That wasn't the case, as you all know, The water was just easy for me to fetch, and I liked washing up after a long day of work and sitting in the warm water. Life, in those moments, were peaceful and filled with bliss. I wouldn't have traded my humble little tomato farm for a room in the king's castle. I loved it so much

"what happened?" Lovino softly grumbled. He didn't sound actually mad; there was no edge in his voice. He sounded tired like a child being read a story who wanted to hear it end before he fell asleep.

"One day I went into town to sell my tomatoes. I had many fresh swollen tomatoes as the rains were good that year. With my earned money, I decided to stock up on some extra vegetables since summer was coming fast and many small farms shut down once the rains stopped due to there not being enough rain to suppourt them. My farm was near a river so I was fine. What I did not know was that it was right before the jewish festival Passover. One man went to the inquisition and accused me of celebrating said festival because I was buying many vegetables right before it commenced. I informed them that the accusaition was ridiculous, and that I only wanted the vegetables because summer was coming but they did not believe me. They took me in and held me prisoner for years in the dungeon as they waited and finally got around to actually checking whether or not I was a jew. It didn't help that my previous master had been jewish. They immediately assumed I had been converted by him at a young age. Some one reported that I had been buying meat from a converted butcher. It took years for them to finally conclude I WAS jewish, even though I was not. They then spent weeks trying to get me to rat out other jews. The worst part about those weeks was that I did know a few men and women, who had loving families of their own, with young children to care for. Younger than my sister and I when we got thrown on the street. I couldn't tell them about those people, but they somehow knew that I was holding back information. They tortured me for hours before giving in and deciding to simply execute me."

Something flashed in Antonio's eyes. A flash of fear and something else. Loneliness, and betrayal.

But it was gone just as soon as it appeared and he continued "they took me to the middle of the city. Obviously there were those who sneered at me, called me dirty and unholy and said I should be appreciative that they were saving my soul. Others just looked really nervous, like they wanted nothing more than to go home to their families. Like they wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment"

"They were probably jews..." Matthew mumbled

Antonio smiled sadly, not looking at anyone "yes they probably were. Many children held their mothers and cried. Men held their hats over their hearts. While there were many who sneered and laughed, There were also others who plain looked sad. I remembered them as people who regularily bought my tomatoes. I was well known in the town as being kind hearted to all. they knew I was indeed catholic. They saw me eat all kinds of meat, they met with me in town during the sabbath. They knew I was no jew."

"Mon ami, why did none speak up for you?" Francis asked sincerily. Arthur's heart ached a little in his chest when he saw the frenchman's sad expression. It took all his will not to go over to try and cheer him up. But of course he wouldn't do something as ridiculous as that! especially not with the air so somber and serious...

also he reminded him of a frog, for some damn reason he reminded him of a gross ugly frog the way his stubble dotted his perfect chin with his blonde locks framing his jaw and marvelous neck...

"because for one, I had already been convicted so there was no chance I would be freed at this point. Also if anyone did try to free me, they would probably be accused themselves, and I would be no better off than I was and they'd be dead."

Everyone glanced around. No one wanted to say anything, they knew how the story ended. No happy ending here. No riding off into the sunset.

"all I wanted was to live on my little tomato farm in peace... but they tied me to that stake and lit the kindling below me. The smoke hazed my vision and I couldn't see anything. I held my breathe- which in retrospect was a terrible idea -and waited for the flames to reach me. The burning, well it isn't a feeling that can be easily described. Your skin begins to melt, your muscles begin degrading and collapsing so you can longer stand. The flames travel up your body, burning your calves, your thighs, your stomach. Once it starts hitting the skin outside your vital organs, you can feel them errupting inside you. As your bodily fluids slowly begin leaking inside your body. Even though your surrounded by fire and heat, you just start feeling so cold inside. The cold spreads until you feel dont feel anything at all, your vision goes blank, and there's really just nothing there. I woke up outside, just like you all did, with someone waiting to guide me to Romulus."

"and?" Lovi mumbled into his shoulder, hiding his fresh tears and quivering voice.

"and I've never been happier since you got here" He smiled, and pulled Lovi into a heartwarming kiss.


	6. New York parties and the Holocaust

Angels and Demons part 6

Lovino continued cuddling with Antonio, refusing to let go. He had an embarrassed blush covering his cheeks, but he didn't push away Antonio's desperate affections. He could tell the man needed something to hold on to. The others all held their respective distances away from the couple. While Lovino tried cheering up Antonio (in his own tsundere way), Francis cleared his throat.

"shall I go next?"

Without waiting for an answer, he began "I myself was born in Paris, France in 1897. I lived there most of my life, and it was quite nice. I went to school with other children my age. A rather fancy school if I do say so myself, my parents were far from poor. I recieved one of the best educations France had to offer and I was going to high up places. Several high class colleges and businesses were already trying for me, even before I was ten years of age. Everyone wanted the heir to the Bonnefoy fortune working with them. The company my father worked for said they had the best claim on me, as they'd known me since infancy and had known for a long time how important I would be. This still left other enemy businesses trying for me, as futile as it was. But all colleges felt they had fair game and were already lining me up with potential scholarships for when I graduated. All the students in my class looked up to me. I was very popular in school with the ladies, and the men."

He offered a seductive wink towards Arthur, who stubbornly turned away missing Francis's face fall in slight dissapointment.

"But not only that, I was also known as a very professional man. Intelligent from the start, and charming to the end. Unfortunately life had other plans for me. I was not meant to stay in Paris. in 1918, the germans set up what was known as the "Paris gun" literally a missile launcher solely for the purpose of bombarding Paris. My parents, being of the high class we were, refused to stay in a city where we could potentially die at any moment. They moved us to New York within days of the first bomb landing. The long range cannon was first installed in march, and was not stopped until August of that year. Still my parents much preferred it in New York, away from the fighting. Even after the war ended we stayed in the city that never slept and boy, that city never slept"

"my reputation as a child prodigy did not follow me to new york. It felt a little strange, suddenly going from being wanted by everyone to just being average. Sure I stood out in class from other students, but my influential name was nothing in New York. Colleges didn't take a second glance at me, and companies were the same. It took a little while for it to sink in that I was probably going to have to apply to a college, and even apply for job. That definitely took some getting used to" He scratched his chin in thought.  
"But That was definitely the time of partying with reckless abondon which made things much better. While I still contributed much of my time and energy into my studies, I did not go to nearly as fancy a school thus much less was expected of me. Our wealth did not follow us from Paris either, as it was in the midst of WW1. We became a middle class family but it really was not that bad. 1920 was a high time for middle class families with the unemployement rate being about only 7% and living conditions steadily rising. I went to half decent school- it was nothing compared to the academy in paris though -and met many friends. By day we were respectable students with nothing to fear. By night though, we were excited partyers, heavy drinkers, and quite the seductive men. We honestly did not have high standards. We took women, men, even each other if it meant getting a good lay. We of course only ever slept with those who consented. L'amour is not something you can force on people."

Arthur was impressed. While he wouldn't admit it aloud but he did not take the Frenchman for one who would wait for consent. The way the man acted he could definitely see him being one who would offer you sexual pleasures, but take them by force if you refused. He had this air about him, one of uncontrollable lust. But, as Arthur knew from experience, never judge a book by its sultry cover. Even the most seemingly provacotive of teens could actually be the purest of saints if you got to know them. And while Francis did seem anything BUT pure, he probably wasn't nearly as bad Arthur had previously thought.

"It was the July of 1920 and summer break was in full swing. Exams had just ended and people were being especially loose with their bodies, determined to release all the pent up stress. I myself was feeling it too, exams were always extra stressful having to take them in another language. I was perfectly fluent in English but it still throws you off just enough to make you extra nervous. Anyways, this party was in full swing and everyone was free and open. In those moments, nothing mattered at all. One man in particular seemed rather interesting. He kept rubbing against me in rather private areas, slipping his hand underneath the clothes I wear to touch sensitive areas. I was so lost in the ectasy of it all that I didn't notice him leading me further and further away from the party until it was too late. I found myself only half comprehending what was going on before a mouth found its way to my face, and a knife in my chest. Not a sound escaped my lips before my heart stopped and I hit the ground, dead."

What shocked Arthur the most about this ending was possibly his nonchalance about the whole thing. He simply brushed it off like nothing happened. As if he was simply talking about the shopping mall not having his favourite brand of chips in stock. He was talking about his life and bloody death! But he acted like it was nothing!

But... if one were to compare Francis's life to those who had told their stories before him, he did have it rather easy. He was a child prodigy, he lived in new york in it's height, even his death was fast and he didn't know what was happening until it already happened. Antonio spent years in prison awaiting trial and Matthew was unrelentlessly bullied the months leading up to his death. No wonder Francis didn't want to make a big deal out of it, he felt there was no need with enough sadness in the air already.

"we lived shortly after you did, francis" Feliciano piped up "Lovino and I were born in Rome, Italy in 1923"

Lovino perked up at the mention of his name "we lived on the streets. That wasn't fun."

Feliciano nodded "we did what we had to to survive. We stole food, blankets, anything we could get our hands on really. If something looked valuable enough, one of us would pick pocket it then sell it later. We used what little money we did recieve to actually purchase things honourably"

Romano grunted "it felt better, to actually pay for the damn things. Like you were helping them out you know? Instead of taking things, you were helping them provide for their fucking families. But there were days when it was too risky to pick pocket, and pies on countersills were far easier to nab. There was no one who provided for us."

Feliciano continued "but of course, times only got worse and worse. Winters became colder, The police became stricter. Eventually, before we knew it, world war two was in full swing. The Nazis took all they could. Jews, gays, criminals, whores. We were doing fine for awhile before someone finally caught us in 1938."

"a blonde german bastard named Ludwig Beildschmidt."

"He caught us with some items that he 'somehow' knew weren't ours. I think he just wanted to catch us and bring us in. He kept talking about how the world didn't need brats like us on the streets. He took us in a truck with a bunch of other people like us. From there, we were moved into a train. The train kept moving but we were so cold. The trains were overstuffed to the point where I was sitting on Lovi's lap. No one ever got off, only on. It was so, so cold. The cold leeched from the outside in to the metal of the train and in to us. Lovi and I were fine, we huddled for warmth and not only that but we kept each other company. But there were some who were not nearly as lucky as us. A few of the younger kids dropped dead of hypothermia before we even reached the camp. Looking back, they were the luckiest ones. Because from there it only got worse for all of us."

"they took us to some non descript camp, filled to the brim with street kids, jews, gays and poles. Their bones were potruding strangely, like they were literally only skin and bone. Their joints stood out strangely, and they only wore rags even though it was the midst of winter. Many of the prisoners were forced to work and do various forms of labour. I saw people collapse randomly from starvation or disease. Far to our left was a pit. It was deep, thin, and long. We could only see what was inside when we walked past it."

Feliciano took a shuddering breathe "it was filled with the starving, wounded, crippled, rotting bodies of prisoners who did not survive the tortures they suffered there"

"They tattooed numbers on our wrists, and swept us aside like rats. For weeks those bastards forced harsh labours on us with even harsher punishments if we didn't comply. Day by Day, Night by Night, My already underfed body became worse and worse. My shoulders potruded strangely, My knees became the largest parts of my legs. My joints were swollen and bruised. We were over exerted to the point where we would fall and be unable to get back up"

Feliciano's trembling voice started talking much quieter than before "Finally after a few weeks they called us by number for showers. Lovi and I were both called. We went in and... we never came out"

This time, no one wept. Tears had been all used up and a more of a calm heavy feeling had settled on everyone. Feliciano shifted nervously, and Antonio could barely be heard mumbling calming, sweet things in Lovino's ear. If one looked close enough, they could see a few silent tears marring Francis's face. He didn't sob or even make a sound. He just stared at the floor with silent tears streaming down his face.

Arthur cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention

"I guess... it's my turn isn't it?"

Everone stared at him expectantly.

"Well I guess... my life started a little like this..." 


	7. The boy who walked a lonely road

Angels and Demons part 7

A little boy, around the age of 4, sits by himself crying. Many older kids stand around him, laughing at the purple and blue bruises blossoming on his face from the beating his brothers just delivered to him. He wails loudly, yet no one tries to comfort him. The large bodies of the slightly older children blocking the scene from any parent's prying eyes. They sneered, they laughed, they jeered. The boy wasn't sure which was worse, the bruises and blood slowly trickling from his nose, or the mocking of his former peers. He decided it was definitely the latter.

A 6 year old walks the streets of London, England, 1994. His head is hung low and shameful and many pass by him, not sparing the poor boy a second glance. Even though it was his birthday, and he should have been happy, he was not. All the other children had chosen his birthday as the perfect excuse for birthday bumps, birthday pinches, birthday smacks, and birthday corner-him-up-a-tree. He could feel the purple and blue roses blooming upon his back. Little streams of red trckled down from small gashes in the pale skin, made from falling from such a high tree. He knew no one at home would care if it was his birthday. No one cared about him at all.

Rain poured down the streets as boy of ten years walked down the exact same street he did every day. He was thankful that the beatings and bruises had stopped long sgo, but the pain in his back remained, this time from the weight of his backpack crammed with textbooks and homework assingments. He almost enjoyed the pain of beatins more, at least when he was beat up by children at school he didn't have hours of seemingly endless work to complete for the very next day. Then he would return to school, deliver the (hopefully) completed homework, recieve more work, return home, complete work, repeat. The cycle never ended, little did he know he had just entered the real cycle of life.

A 13 year old boy walks side by side with friend of two years now, discussing the unfair teachers and the amount of work they were forced to do. They wavy haired canadian politely agreed, although kept most of his opinions to himself being just barely 12 himself. He was the only one who could get him to open and speak about himself. He had become introverted and quiet, due to his own older brother beating on him constantly. On quiet nights, when Arthur lay in bed with nothing to entertain him but his own cruel twisted thoughts, he wondered if he would be just as quiet as his friend, if his brothers and peers at school had continued their relentless bullying. Arthur made a point to himself to always be there for Matthew from now on, so he wouldn;t have to suffer alone any longer as Arthur had done.

A 15 year old Arthur and 14 year old Matthew walked side by side down the sidewalk. Arthur punk phase had just began, clearly shown by the clothing slightly darker in nature and eyeliner that had begun surrounding his green eyes.  
"H-hey Arthur" he softly questioned. Arthur was pulled out of this thoughts by his longtime friend, figurative younger brother, and next door neighbour "hm? yes Matthew?"  
"I-I'm" he stuttered "I'm considering finally... y'know... t-telling my parents"  
"about what?"  
"about my sexuality" Arthur stared bug eyed at his friend "Matthew are you absolutely sure? you know your family aren't the most... accepting people in the world. Will you be alright?"  
"I'll be fine Arthur" He stated as confidentally as he could "Hopefully they won't even c-care" his voice cracked on the last word.  
"oh.. Matthew" he sighed and resigned to hugging his study partner, remember his own coming out to HIS family as pansexual. It had a little less than perfect. His father tried to throw a bottle at his head and his mother threatened to throw him out on the street if he ever so much as considered dating a man. He almost took her up on the offer too, just to get away from his godforsaken family. But he always had to quietly remind himself to wait until he was 18 and graduated. Then he was free and could where ever he wanted. He even had a plan thought out, he would work for a year and wait for Matthew to graduate, then the two of them could travel around the country together. Just camping, hitchhiking, and living the carefree life. They wouldn't have to deal with people judging them for who they were, never having to stay in one place before moving on. No one would have to know.  
"as long as you think this is the right thing to do... I will support you through and through" Arthur whispered into Matthew's soft hair.

A 16 year old walked down the street quietly with his friend, ignoring the black blossoms blessing the poor boy's face. Ignoring the tears streaming down his cheeks. Ignored the unspoken cries for help he knew were there, too afraid to be spoken. Too afraid is friend would leave, too afraid he would say no. Too afraid his last friend would walk away and throw him to the dogs. And so he stayed silent.

A 17 year old boy walked alone. He wore black, but not because of his punk phase which had abruptly stopped days ago. A black tie, with a suit covered the boy although he felt more naked than ever. He took a turn he normally walked past, although there were many things different about today. He didn't normally walk this route on sundays. He didn't normally have to walk this route alone. He didn't usually have to take the dreaded left turn that took him towards the church graveyeard for the funeral of his best friend.

At 18, he should be more alive than ever. He had graduated with flying colours, he was finally free to move out from the dreaded home he was trapped in and get on with his life. He could welcome life's challenges with open arms and take it all head on. But why bother? the only reason he wanted to work was to free the little boy who was truly trapped, and would now never be set free. He didn't want to follow through with his plan to travel America without him. It felt wrong. With a shrug, he resinged to maybe actually take a glance at all those colleges offering him those fancy scholarships...

He kissed his mother goodbye, somewhat reluctantly. He'd been forced to wait one torturous year before leaving but at 19 he was finally going to his choice college. He wouldn't have to face the people he reluctantly called family. His father beamed in pride, Arthur being the only son who actually got in to a college on his first try. His mother had tears in her eyes, even though the feeling was anything but mutual. They seemed to have conveniently forgot his little confession 4 years ago. All they saw now was their little boy becoming succesfull in life. The only one bringing any true honor to the Kirkland name. With a forced smile and wave, he walked from the doorstep into the car he purchased, and drove off with no intention of coming back any time soon.

24 years had done much to change this british gentleman. He'd made friends, lost friends, found and lost love, graduated highschool, left his famiky, got a degree. And now here he stood, walking down this familiar road. His steps dragged slightly as he walked towards the downtown area, rapidly growing in these recent years. It had been but an area for drug addicts and a few convenience stores, but had now become an urban marketplace boasting itself as a family friendly enviroment with shops and boutiques alike, anyone could find a job from the pennyless teenager looking for something slightly better than an allowance to a degree wielding gentleman looking for a full time well paying job. He was currently applying for a job as a manager of a slightly fancier boutique, not only graduating from highschool with high grades but college and university as well. He was almost garunteed any job he wanted.

A few weeks later he walked down that same road in a suit with a briefcase, on his way to work. Sure enough he recieved the exact job he wanted, in the exact position he anticipated he would revieve. He'd gotten everything exact, and perfect. Except of course for the poor woman he ran in to when he attention waned for a split second. They both went directly to their bottoms, and his briefcase popped open with papers threatening to scurry away with the friendly wind.  
"oh my goodness, I am so so sorry" She squealed. Arthur immediately jumped up without sparing her a glance and shut his case, sealing the papers away safely for now.  
He finally looked up and his heart stopped. Beautiful chestnut hair waved and swirled around her pale face. Blue green eyes stared back, worry apparent in them "I-I'm fine" He sputtered out. It was the start of something beautiful

26 years had done him well, giving him everything he needed in life and much much more. The apartement was purchased, The ring in his pocket, and the location chosen. They walked side by side, arm in arm, as she laughed easily with little care in the world. Arthur laughed as well, but with much hopefully undetectable strain. The small box in his pocket weighed him down immensly and he felt himself taking smaller and smaller steps. What if she said no? What if he was rushing things? What if they went bankrupt? But one last cheerful laugh from her beautiful voice made all his worries melt away. Things would be perfect, he knew it.

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he ran. Not knowing nor caring where he was going, he ran. He sprinted. He refused to stop for the voice behind him crying out. He refused to open his eyes to see the bewildered stares he was given by the crowds of those standing in the rain. He didn't even notice the car screaming towards him, unable to stop in the slick streets.

An ambulance screamed down the street, it's patient inside slowly dying. Many stood by in shock and bewilderment, unable to comprehend what was happening. The woman who had refused to leave the spot she'd been in when the man was hit wailed at the top of her lungs. The look in her eyes was that of a deranged woman, one who had lost all sense of sanity and hope. Red rimmed her eyes and the veins on her neck stood out as she continously screamed, refusing to stop until her voice gave out, and she raced towards their shared car to reach the hospital.

The ex-fianc of Arthur Kirkland walked down that very same road. The rain had let up, and the sun shined brightly with no clouds to block her beautiful view. She wore a dress of black and walked the same route Arthur walked all those years ago, at the age of 17.

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**hey... yeah my first A/N I know. I was just wondering, even though this is FRUKUS story and some characters have not been introduced to the story yet *cough*Alfred*cough* what are your ships for this story so far? just leave a review and let me know! I'm only asking because my friend read this and said she wanted Arthur and Matthew to get together... so yeah what are you shipping right now?**


	8. 2 Demons

Angels and Demons  
part 8

Arthur sighed. He wasn't sure what he expected from telling them his life story. Tears? Exasperated sighs of boredom? Surely his tale was the least interesting of them all. What would they think? He was almost afraid to look up to see their judging faces, judging him for nearly crying at such a pathetically weak life, with no real hardships or pain.

What he did not expect was to be embraced by not one pair of arms, but 5.

Looking through eyes blurred by tears, he saw Feliciano, Lovino, Antonio, Francis, and Matthew all embracing with little soft smiles adorning their faces. Small, clear tears trickled down their cheeks as well.

"Artur, that was magnéfique" Francis whispered

"si, si Arthur veh~"

"I'm really sorry for what I did. I... never realized how badly I would be missed"

"Thanks for making me cry again bastardo"

"You're really strong, amigo"

Arthur was full on sobbing at this point. Why. Why were they embracing him. They should be thinking he was the most pathetic being to ever exist, not saying he was magnificent... strong... a friend. Ever since Matthew left, he'd had no one. He'd depended on no one. He'd lived a lonely, pathetic life, afraid of being rejected, of failing as a friend.

Death was supposed to be the final frontier. The depressing miserable end. Leaving everything behind and gaining nothing. It was the only weapon the brought ever man to the same level. No one was better than the other when you were in the ground.

But Arthur had never felt this happy in life. This many friends, all who knew what he'd been through and still accepted him. He would've opened up a lot more in life if he knew it felt this nice.

His sobs quieted down and everyone stopped crying. None had broken the giant embrace, and none had not cried when Arthur began. hey all realized it felt rather nice to get it out, and while it hurt to relive the past it put it where it belonged; in the past.

Everyone separated and sat on the floor, to avoid putting space between each other as they were still feeling the after effects of coming clean. The sky shined a beautiful blue, and children's laughter echoed off the hills. Arthur glowed in happiness and faint blush covered his cheeks. His heart felt like it was expanding and filling him with warmth, like a little miniature sun.

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They all laughed and chuckled as they walked pack towards the little town they all kept residence in. They would've flied, as it was much faster, but Arthur hadn't even so much as moved his wings yet, let alone practice flying. Walking also gave them an excuse to stay together for just a little but longer. They talked about happier things like flying, and food (of course that was a one sided conversation of Feli talking about pasta but whatever)

But too soon, they approached the nearby town. They had to avoid all the angels dive bombing to the path they were in, since the small buildings within the town were too close together for them to fly through if they wanted in. Arthur felt slightly better now, having felt guilty earlier for forcing his newfound friends to walk with him since it had became quickly apparent he could not fly yet. Matthew insisted they would teach him at a later time.

"You remember those small building by themselves right? Well there are a lot of those, it's where most of us live." Matthew began "Housing complexes and such. But these towns here are more for social gathering than anything else. Friends can interact with one another, meet new people, or just generally have fun. You can also come here if you're interested in learning new skills. You can learn really useful things like magic, or entertaining things like how to knit or play the guitar. A lot of people come here with talents, and decide to share them. I mean you can't really help it, you do have eternity to spend here"

"you know that was never fully explained to me" Arthur commented "Romulus told me a lot, without really telling me anything"

"didn't tell you what?" Feli popped in

"the time we spend here. How long we have, what I have to do, all that"

"oh well" Matthew said "you spend eternity here, unless something... bad happens"

"bad?"

"well you know, demons and the like" Matthew whispered quietly. Feli jumped in "good people come here, bad people go to hell. We become angels, they become demons. It's our job to slay them, and vice versa!"

Arthur stared at Feli with wide eyes.

"oh was that not explained to you?" Feli questioned innocently.

"it does not look like it" Francis whispered, an awkward smile plastered to his face "well at least you know now oui? it would be bad for you to learn these things too late to help you"

"I guess you're right... frog" He added on to the end with sly smirk.

Francis went really close to Arthur, very close, until their bodies were nearly pressed against each other. He could feel the heat radiating off the French man. What was he planning? Arthur was becoming more and more panicked as Francis leaned in towards him with half lidded eyes. All the blood rushed to his face and Francis whispered seductively "black sheep"

All the blood rushed to Arthur's face, but this time for a different reason "What the hell you bloody wanker?! You go through all that, just to insult me? well you can just bugger off then!" He all but shouted. No one around them pay them a second glance, already used to Francis's antics, even if Arthur's reaction was much more amusing than what the flirtatious man usually received.

Antonio and Feli chuckled, while Lovino rolled his eyes; he being the subject more than once to Francis's strange ways, he was already used to it.

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As they got further and further in to the town (which didn't take long, as it was very small) They noticed things seemed to get progressively... worse. Not in the sense that the buildings were run down or drunkards littered the town (neither of which were there, there was no way heaven would have such ghastly things) No it seemed more to the point of people looking more terrified, their movements sharper, quicker, and more panicked. They all seemed to be running over to the center of the town, where a masked man stood shouting to the crowds of worried angels. Francis and Antonio insisted they go check it out; Matthew agreeing silently, while the Italian twins seemed a little less reluctant to see the source of the terrifying excitement. Never the less, they all joined the herds moving towards him and caught what he was saying.

The masked Turkish man spoke sternly and loudly, so as to be heard by all"- I want groups of angels scouring the hills from 50 feet up, 30 feet up, and 20 feet up. No angel is to challenge them alone. If you see them but do no have adequate support, do not approach them. Notify an angel of high enough stature to challenge them, or a group powerful enough. I repeat: do not approach the demons alone. Split into groups of 5, then come to me for your assignment. We must find them before any more harm occurs."

"oh merde" Francis whispered; who had paled considerably once he realized what was going on.

"mios dio" Antonio's voice wavered, and he didn't look any better than Francis.

"any... more harm? oh mon dieu, I must help them. I'm the assigned medic for this district... Think you guys can find someone else?" Matthew asked, worry filling his violet eyes.

"oui, oui go. Kiku is probably around here somewhere, you go do your work"

"merci" and with that, Matthew was gone in the crowds.

"um... does anyone feel like explaining to me what is going on?" Arthur asked, rather peeved that he was the only one out of the loop.

"ah, my amigo, it seems some demons managed to sneak their way into heaven"

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After a few minutes that felt much longer than they actually were, Arthur found himself as a nurses aid to Matthew helping a few injured angels with... interesting wounds.

The first was a Chinese man, Yao Wang. He seemed rather fine in terms of injuries, nothing visibly affecting him. He seemed so distraught over something though, Arthur couldn't figure out why. Over and over again, he begged Matthew to help him, to which he always replied he would do his best.

Arthur remained confused until Matthew finally explained his wings were NOT supposed to be jet black. Arthur thought it was beautiful. While everyone else had the beautiful white wings of a dove, his shined in the light like that of a raven's. Arthur thought they were magnificent, but Matthew insisted it was curse.

"our wings are a sign of our purity. Our powers stem from the purity of our wings. Its how we fight and defend ourselves, how to impress others. He'll stick out like a sore thumb with wings like this. If we can't fix him... he'll be sent to hell with the demons." Matthew carefully explained, tears threatening the corners of his eyes.

"b-but why? He's a good man, he told me! He lived in ancient china, he sold merchant wares and silks before being murdered by thieves! He wasn't evil in any way! why send him to hell?" Arthur protested.

"because, Arthur, it isn't as simple as that. His magic is cursed and slowly, but not slowly enough, his feathers will start falling off and he'll become evil and vicious. We have until the first feather drops before we have to send him away, for our own safety"

That shushed Arthur into a silence, leaving everything to a blur in his disoriented mind. Others had superficial injuries, large gashes from the demons apparently large retractable claws, burns from their fire. Luckily, none others had been cursed as Yao had.

"we have about 12 hours" Matthew predicted sadly.

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After a few moments of this, Matthew escorted Arthur to a single house in the town, as Arthur didn't know how to fight yet he could not be left alone. Sadiq (as he learned the Turkish masked man's name was) had taken over the case of Yao, being a magic specialist there was a chance he could help. No hope was in sight yet for him though, and if his sobs said anything it seemed the Chinese man knew this. He had rambled on, terrified about the two demons who had broken so they could have a description to look for, even if black leather wings stood out a lot in this land of pure angels.

"o-one had silver hair, aru. He was very tall a-and broad shouldered. But what was the most terrifying were h-his eyes, aru. They were a sharp v-violet, scarring me, and freezing me in place. He w-was the one who cursed me, aru."

Matthew left the moment Yao began describing the second demon

"h-he just watched and laughed this cruel, cruel laugh aru. His eyes were vibrant blue, and his hair w-was a dusted blonde. H-he wore a bomber jacket and h-his teeth were razor sharp from the l-looks of it, aru"

Arthur knew as well, who the second demon was. Now alone in the house with Matthew, he pondered over these thoughts while internally raging at the silence that hung around them. He couldn't stand it, and decided to strike up a conversation that didn't involve the fact Matthew's abusive brother was now here in heaven, possibly looking for either of them, with a definite intention to harm.

"how well do you know Sadiq?"

"quite well" Matthew replied, apparently he wasn't the only one looking for a conversation "he helped me out a lot when I first arrived"

"if it isn't too personal, how did he arrive here?"

A shadow cast themselves over Matthew's eyes "he lived in Turkey for a while, I don't know where, during WW2. He escaped to Quebec after some time, don't ask me how, that man is a genius. Anyways, while hiding in Quebec he met this lovely girl named Alice. I guess he fell in love with her instantly, and vice versa. They were going to live their whole lives together in happiness. Her family life wasn't great, and her father abandoned her once the war started"

"what happened?"

"She died in childbirth. A son, he named Alec. Childbirth is technically a natural cause of death so she didn't end up here. Sadiq was forced to work hard for his child, and was later murdered on the street while begging for food. Alec was only a few months old, and later died of pneumonia. His whole family moved on while he remains here alone. If he ever seems over the top stressed, that is usually why."

"I see" Arthur couldn't help but pity, and envy the young man. His wife always loved him, never cheated or left him. But Arthur would never show his jealousy, it would too cruel and inhumane of him.

They were both brought out of their reveries by an ear piercing scream of a young woman. "Lilli" Matthew gasped "her brother is patrolling 50 feet up, he won't hear her. No one will. I have to go, you'll be okay on your own right?"

"of course" Arthur rapidly nodded his head and before he knew it, Matthew was gone to help the young woman.

It only took a few minutes of being alone before a lone, cruel, poison filled voice whispered directly in to his ear "hello arty, miss me?"

**re-upload of this chapter, thank you Aabluedragon for pointing out that somehow smooshed it into one big block, here is the fixed version :)**


	9. Welcome to hell

Angels and Demons part 9

Alfred hummed the American anthem to himself, skipping down the street, twirling his house key in one hand and holding a bouquet of flowers in the other. The sidewalk was chipped and cracked, and small puddles were already forming from the light rain drizzling down on him. His thoughts were happy ones, of the upcoming dance, of his succeeding grades, of the game they won last week, of his fairly high chances being elected prom king this year. Even though one with such a grim destination would normally be feeling sad and depressed, he was in a good mood.

As he rounded the corner, tipped his hat and put on his best sad smile to the man watching the gate to graveyard. A sympathetic smile was returned and the gate opened. Why shouldn't it? Alfred was a poor brother visiting the grave of his beloved sibling who, sadly for unknown reasons, committed suicide just one year ago.

A year ago today to be exact.

And as Alfred stared at the plain boring gravestone, littered with flowers and small trinkets, engraved with the words "Matthew Williams, 1996 - 2013", Alfred could not, just possibly could not, find a morsel of pity within himself. Not a single tear was willing to give itself up to be shed, not even a simple pain his heart. His lip did not tremble, his hands did not shake, his body remained firmly where it stood. And as much as he knew he should feel guilt, feel sadness, feel despair, he simply felt nothing.

"Oh brother dear, It's been one year since you took the great jump huh? How does it feel? Are you finally free? Did all your wishes come true?" His words rang in the empty graveyard, everyone else already visiting when the weather was nice and not picking up rain now like it was, leaving the brothers alone "Have you passed on to a different life with a brother that actually loves you?"

Despite his words, Alfred felt no regret for what he did. Matthew was disgusting, plain and simple. To actually LOVE another man like a woman was an abomination, and it almost, almost, made him sad to think his little brother was most likely rotting in hell for what he chose to be. For the disgusting acts he wanted to commit. Love was a sacred thing, created by god to be shared solely between a man and a woman. To do so otherwise was spitting in the face of the almighty lord, throwing back his wonderous gift right in his face.

Matthew wasn't the only one dead now. Alfred had made it his personal mission to cleanse the school. Matthew's disgusting disease had spread, and spread fast. More and more people were revealing themselves to be homosexual in the name of the unholy boy who jumped. More and more were jumping now. Alfred had to be behind the suicide of at least a dozen students and he was proud. None of them deserved to live and here he was, sweeping the school of them. Less and less were showing up now, so much fear was held of him. He was respected and feared by all, knowing he held the lives of each and every student in the palm of his hand.

He was god.

A cold wind suddenly picked up, dramatically reminding Alfred of the quickly downturning weather. He threw the flowers at gravestone carelessly, pulled his bomber jacket over his head, and ran for the nearest shelter from the pelting rain. The church.

Once inside, he realized he was all alone except for a tall man praying in the pews. His accent seemed Russian if Alfred heard properly from this far back. His silver head was bown low, his hands tightly clasped together. If Alfred had been closer he would have seen the man knuckles shaking, white from blood loss, and sweating terribly from the effort and concentration put in to this simple prayer, as if this man was never given the oppurtunity to ask something of god. But all things considered, he probably never was.

Albeit reluctantly, Alfred joined the Russian, not wanting to stand at the back dripping water awkwardly. The tall man finished praying just as he arrived, and placed his hands down on his lap.

Alfred easily struck up a conversation with something obvious "what'cha prayin' for?"

The taller of the two smiled, although it seemed far more menacing than a simple smile should "for all the poor souls who die, and end up in hell"

Alfred snorted "Hate to break it to you, but most people in hell deserve to be there" thinking of his own brother's fate, his smirk died slightly but he knew he did the right thing. Matthew deserved it. He was saving others from Matthew's fate.

"oh do they?" Ivan's aura appeared even darker than before "do tell me, who deserves to go to hell?"

Alfred smirked again "well that's obvious dude. Murderers, rapists, evil people I guess y'know?"

"with that logic you will go to hell as well" Ivan was now the one smirking "you killed your brother da?"

Alfred chuckled darkly, feigning a sad sigh "no sorry, you have it wrong. He was bullied in to committing suicide last year. It was terrible, really" He wanted to laugh at his own marvelous performance. OH the poor heartbroken brother, missing his plagued suicide victim sibling! How terrible!

"bullied by you"

Those three words made Alfred stop. Of course he knew, who didn't? He almost looked young enough to attend their high school if it weren't for the intimidating aura, he must have heard of Alfred's power at some point. All do, eventually.

"I didn't directly bully him, just..." he trailed off, looking for the right words.

"paid others to do it for you" Ivan seemed to be pretty knowledgeable on this subject. Why was he asking if he already knew?

"yes"

"so you murdered him" A heavy silence hung in the air.

until finally "I DID NOT" Alfred shouted, echoing off the walls and shaking the infastructure of the old church "I was cleansing the school. I saved hundreds of other students from falling into his wicked path. I saved hundreds of lives! MATTHEW GOT WHAT HE DESERVED FOR SUCCUMBING SO EASILY"

Ivan, having enough of playing around with his newfound toy, stood to his full height, towering over the trembling American, hiding him in his shadow "you think this makes you a good person da? You still murdered your brother, and dozens of other students who support him"

"I'M SAVING THE OTHERS! THEIR SIN IS CONTAGIOUS! I'M HELPING THE WORLD. I'M DOING THE WORLD A FAVOR. I. AM. HELPING." Alfred had snapped, shouting at the top of his lungs to try and scare away the much stronger, much taller, and much more intimidating man. Unfortunately for him, it was failing miserably.

In a single flash, a dark ragged knife made of a strange bone impaled itself through Alfred's neck. He watched in amazement as his liquid life spilled from him, splattering the floor a deep dark red. His hands struggled weakly against the dark bone, trying to pull the offending object out of his neck. Oxygen was no longer reaching his lungs and he gasped weakly for air that he was not receiving.

And in this time, Alfred's panicked eyes watched as Ivan emerged in to his true form, with dark leathery wings and long spiraling horns growing from the top of his head. His eyes seemed to glow and suddenly the dark aura made sense.

Alfred's vision filled with black spots, from blood loss or suffocation he was not sure. It was most likely both. Ivan leaned in and whispered "So was I" before Alfred finally succumbed to the dark cold that absorbed his body.

The whole town sighed a guilty sigh of relief at the death of Alfred. And while his parents were so sad at his suicide, they also felt a small part of them warm at his suicide note.

Dear Mom and Dad

I can't take it anymore. It's already been one year but the pain is still fresh. I miss my little brother so much I can't think about living without him anymore. I just keep thinking of him crying, all alone, needing someone to be there for him. So I'm sorry for leaving you all, but he needs me more.

Sincerely,

Alfred F. Jones

His parents understood and even though they were not all that sad to see their youngest son go, they felt honored to know how honorable their beautiful eldest son was to sacrifice the rest of his life just to help the brother who did not deserve it.

Others had a somewhat knowledge of the truth, but none spoke up. They were simply glad he was gone and if he was murdered, well, no one really cared.

Flames of sulfur blew up and around him. He flew everywhere, dodging the minions midair, as the ground was simply fields and fields of boiling blood, rotting carcasses, and skeletons. Not even the worst demons went down there, and all lived in their floating homes. The air was constantly filled with smoke, making no air desirable to breathe. The screeching of minions made it near impossible to sleep, an action only plausible to consider once one had reached the very brink between waking and not.

Currently, our lovely antagonist sat upon the flat roof of his floating stone home, still not comprehending the purpose of minions. They screeched, they fluttered, they threw themselves in to the lakes of boiling blood or clouds of sulfuric flames. Alfred himself was trying not to choke on the terrible smoke said flames gave off. His eyes were always watering terribly from the acidic quality to the air. The underside to his home was chipping off again. Every few weeks your house simply disintegrated and forced you to relocate and rebuild from scratch.

All of this was pure hell for Alfred. From the screeching useless minions to the clouds of flame. Nothing was safe. There were many moments when he wanted to pull a minion, dive in to the lakes of boiling blood and never resurface. Die for real this time. And oh he had tried to do so. But after many failed attempts of sitting and having his skin melt off, he eventually realized he simply could not die.

The flittering of wings behind him alerted him to the presence of his "comrade"

"Remind me, Ivan, why it is even worth living in this hell hole." Alfred shouted behind him to be overheard the screeching and moaning that were constants here.

"it is not. It is called hell for a reason. Here, we cannot die. Here, we are to be tortured to pay for our sins."

"you said 'here, we cannot die' does this mean it is possible to die in other places"

"yes comrade, but not here, nor earth, nor heaven. But if you are slain by an angel then by all means you will be permanently dead"

Alfred snorted "So what's stopping me from challenging an angel to a duel and getting myself killed huh? The wonderful scenic view, the noisy neighbors?" He gestured to the minions screaming around and the far off fields of sharp broken bones.

"the opportunity to go to heaven" Ivan had the largest, creepiest grin he could muster. His wings fluttered in excitement, his black shining horns almost seemed to glow, and his thick scaled tale began flicking around, eager for excitement.

"uh, hate to break it to you dude, but we're stuck in hell. And if you haven't reminded me enough times, we're here for a reason, suffering the ultimate punishment." Each demon was given a very special personalized punishment to suit best what they did. Alfred's was embarrassing, to say the least. To feel these disgusting sexual urges towards those of his own gender, this was what made Alfred hate hell the most.

"Yes we may be stuck in hell, but that does not mean we must spend all of our time here. Tell me, would you be interested in visiting heaven with me?"


End file.
